View source for WPA World Nine-ball Championship

{{short description|World Championship in pool, played in Nine-ball}}
{{for|the women's event|WPA Women's World Nine-ball Championship}}
{{Infobox Sports league
| title           = 
| current_season  = 2024 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
| logo            = 
| pixels          = 200px
| caption         = 
| sport           = [[Pool (cue sports)|Pool]]
| founded         = 1990
| champion        = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Fedor Gorst]]
| champ_season    = 2024
| most_champs     = <!--if more than one-->
| website         = {{url|matchroompool.com}}
| related_comps   = [[WPA World Eight-ball Championship|Eight-ball]], [[WPA World Ten-ball Championship|Ten-ball]]
| Founder         = [[World Pool Association]]
}}
The '''WPA World Nine-ball Championship''' is an annual professional [[nine-ball]] [[Pool (cue sports)|pool]] tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the [[World Pool Association]] (WPA) and principally sponsored and organized by [[Matchroom Sport]], who promote he event as the '''World Pool Championship'''.  The championship is divided into men's, women's and wheelchair divisions.

==History==
{{update|section|date=April 2022|reason=lacking detail after 2010}}
In the summer of 1989, the [[World Pool-Billiard Association]] (WPA) began plans for a world championship tournament. The group sent invitations, rules, sports regulations and by-laws. Reception was positive, and a provisional Board was created.<ref>[http://www.wpa-pool.com/web/wpa_history World Pool-Billiard Association – WPA history] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131124429/http://www.wpa-pool.com/web/wpa_history |date=January 31, 2016 }}</ref>

In March 1990, the inaugural WPA World Nine-ball Championship was held in [[Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia|Bergheim, Germany]]. The playing field included 32 men and 16 women in separate divisions, and has since become an annual event. The event was organised solely by the WPA from this inauguration through 1999.<ref name=csns>[http://www.csns.ca/Archives/wpa9men.html World Pool Championships – Men's 9-Ball] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929230840/http://www.csns.ca/Archives/wpa9men.html |date=September 29, 2015 }}</ref>

In July 1999, [[Matchroom Sport]] attempted to get involved with the organisation of the event, but their bid failed. The WPA event was played in [[Alicante]], [[Spain]], and won by [[Nick Varner]] of the [[United States]]. Broadcast on [[ESPN]], it was the first pro nine-ball championship to be televised. Matchroom Sport, meanwhile, instead organised tournament called the "World Professional Pool Championship", a competing and non-WPA-sanctioned event in [[Cardiff]], [[Wales]], which was won by [[Efren Reyes]] of the [[Philippines]].<ref>[https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.sport.billiard/wZjQ7pTYto8 Reyes is world 9-ball champion!] {{webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20110122130054/https://groups.google.com/forum/ |date=January 22, 2011 }} Philippine Balita Today – July 26, 1999</ref>

In 2000, Matchroom and the WPA agreed that tournaments would merge into a single official world championship. The WPA also agreed to recognise the results of the 1999 Matchroom event, meaning that official listings show both Varner and Reyes as 1999 world champions. Matchroom changed its promotional name for the event to the "World Pool Championship", dropping the word "professional" from the title. The event remained in Cardiff through 2003.<ref name=csns/>

In 2001, the number of competitors in the men's division was increased to 128 and a men's division first prize raised to [[United States dollar|$]]65,000.<ref name=csns/><ref>[http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/174-world-9-ball-championship/260-admiral-wpa-world-pool-championship-2001/results/ Admiral WPA World Pool Championship 2001] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726213620/http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/174-world-9-ball-championship/260-admiral-wpa-world-pool-championship-2001/results/ |date=July 26, 2015 }}</ref>

[[File:Albin Ouschan.JPG|thumb|right|Two-time champion [[Albin Ouschan]]]]
The [[2004 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2004]] and [[2005 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2005]] events were held in [[Taiwan]], with a men's division first prize of $75,000 as of 2004.<ref name=csns/> The 2005 tournament saw two rules changes: last 64 and last 32 matches were extended to {{Cuegloss|Race|race-to-10}} format, and the {{Cuegloss|Pocket|pockets}} on the tables were narrowed, to make the game more difficult.<ref>[http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/174-world-9-ball-championship/1250-wpa-world-pool-championship-2005/ WPA World Pool Championship 2005] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224436/http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/174-world-9-ball-championship/1250-wpa-world-pool-championship-2005/ |date=September 23, 2015 }}</ref>

In [[2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|the 2006 event]], the Philippines became the host country for two years. All matches became alternating-{{Cuegloss|Break|break}} all the way from the group stages to the finals. Men's division first prize escalated to $100,000. In [[2007 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2007]], the event ran from November 3–11, and [[Daryl Peach]] of the [[England]] was the victor. Because of the global [[late-2000s recession]] the championship did not reappear on the calendar in 2008. For some time neither Matchroom nor the WPA released any predictions regarding its reinstatement, and no 2009 event was held, either.<ref>[http://test.azbilliards.com/story.php?story=5236 Economy Scratches Pool in the Side] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930001743/http://test.azbilliards.com/story.php?story=5236 |date=September 30, 2015 }}</ref>

After a two-year hiatus, the tournament returned as the [[2010 WPA World Nine-ball Championship]] in [[Doha]], [[Qatar]]. [[Francisco Bustamante]] of the Philippines won the 2010 title.<ref>[http://www.cuesports.org.tw/apbu/tournament/francisco-bustamante-wins-world-crown/ Francisco Bustamante Wins World Crown] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930073354/http://www.cuesports.org.tw/apbu/tournament/francisco-bustamante-wins-world-crown/ |date=September 30, 2015 }}</ref> The event was then held annually in Doha through 2019.<ref>[http://www.gulf-times.com/sport/192/details/455565/pin-yi-makes-it-a-world-title-double-in-doha Pin-Yi makes it a World title double in Doha] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930134257/http://www.gulf-times.com/sport/192/details/455565/pin-yi-makes-it-a-world-title-double-in-doha |date=September 30, 2015 }}</ref> After not being contested in 2020 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the championship resumed in 2021 in [[Milton Keynes]], England. The 2022 edition was April 6–10 in Milton Keynes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.azbilliards.com/tournament/203781-wpa-world-pool-championship-2022/ |title=WPA World Pool Championship 2022 |website=azbilliards.com |accessdate=April 2, 2022}}</ref>

==Winners==
{{Main|List of WPA World Nine-ball champions}}

<ref name="azbi_Worl">{{Cite web | title = World 9-Ball Championship | work = azbilliards.com | access-date = August 9, 2018 | url = http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/174-world-9-ball-championship/results/ }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" 
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
!Year
!Dates
!Location
!Winner
!Runner-up
!Final score
|-
|1990
|March 3-7
|[[Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia|Bergheim]], Germany
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Earl Strickland]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Jeff Carter (pool player)|Jeff Carter]]
|3–1 (sets)
|-
|1991
|May 29 – June 5
|[[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], United States
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Earl Strickland]] {{small|(2)}}
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Nick Varner]]
|9–7
|-
|1992
|April 1-5
|[[Taipei]], Taiwan
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Johnny Archer]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Robert Hunter (pool player)|Bobby Hunter]]
|13–12
|-
|1993
|December 7-12
|[[Königswinter]], Germany
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Chao Fong-pang]]
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Thomas Hasch]]
|2–0 (sets)
|-
|1994
|November 2-6
|[[Chicago]], United States
|{{flagicon|JPN|1947}} [[Takeshi Okumura]]
|{{flagicon|JPN|1947}} [[Yasunari Itsuzaki]]
|9–6
|-
|1995
|November 15-19
|[[Taipei]], Taiwan
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Oliver Ortmann]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Dallas West]]
|11–9
|-
|[[1996 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|1996]]
|October 23-27
|[[Borlänge Municipality|Borlänge]], Sweden
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Ralf Souquet]]
|{{flagicon|SWE}} [[Tom Storm]]
|11–1
|-
|[[1997 WPA World Pool Championship|1997]]
|October 1–5 
|[[Chicago]], United States
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Johnny Archer]] {{small|(2)}}
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Lee Kun-fang]]
|9–3
|-
|[[1998 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|1998]]
|November 11–15
|[[Taipei]], Taiwan
|{{flagicon|JPN|1947}} [[Kunihiko Takahashi]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Johnny Archer]]
|13–3
|-
|[[1999 World Professional Pool Championship|1999]] 
|July 18–26
|[[Cardiff]], Wales
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Efren Reyes]]
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Chang Hao-ping]]
|17–8
|-
|[[1999 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|1999]] 
|December 5–12
|[[Alicante]], Spain
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Nick Varner]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Jeremy Jones (pool player)|Jeremy Jones]]
|13–8
|-
|[[2000 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2000]]
|July 1–9
|rowspan=4|[[Cardiff]], Wales
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Chao Fong-pang]] {{small|(2)}}
|{{flagicon|MEX}} [[Ismael Paez]]
|17–6
|-
|[[2001 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2001]]
|July 14–22
|{{flagicon|FIN}} [[Mika Immonen]]
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Ralf Souquet]]
|17–10
|-
|[[2002 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2002]]
|July 13–21
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Earl Strickland]] {{small|(3)}}
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Francisco Bustamante]]
|17–15
|-
|[[2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2003]]
|July 12–20
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Thorsten Hohmann]]
|{{flagicon|CAN}} [[Alex Pagulayan]]
|17–10
|-
|[[2004 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2004]]
|July 10–18
|[[Taipei]], Taiwan
|{{flagicon|CAN}} [[Alex Pagulayan]]
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Chang Pei-wei]]
|17–13
|-
|[[2005 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2005]]
|July 2–10
|[[Kaohsiung]], Taiwan
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Wu Jiaqing]]
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Kuo Po-cheng]]
|17–16
|-
|[[2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2006]]
|November 4–12 
|[[Pasay]], Philippines
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Ronnie Alcano]]
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Ralf Souquet]]
|17–11
|-
|[[2007 WPA Men's World Nine-ball Championship|2007]]
|November 3–11
| [[Quezon City]], Philippines
|{{flagicon|ENG}} [[Daryl Peach]]
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Roberto Gomez (pool player)|Roberto Gomez]]
|17–15
|-
|2008
|colspan="5" rowspan=2 align="center" |''Not held due to the [[2008 financial crisis]]''
|-
|2009
|-
|[[2010 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2010]]
|June 29 – July 5
|rowspan=10|[[Doha]], Qatar
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Francisco Bustamante]] 
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Kuo Po-cheng]] 
|13–7
|-
|[[2011 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2011]]
|June 25 – July 1
|{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yukio Akakariyama]]
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Ronnie Alcano]] 
|13–11
|-
|[[2012 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2012]]
|June 22–29 
|{{flagicon|ENG}} [[Darren Appleton]]
|{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Li Hewen]]
|13–12
|-
|[[2013 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2013]]
|September 2–13
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Thorsten Hohmann]] {{small|(2)}}
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Antonio Gabica]]
|13–7
|-
|[[2014 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2014]]
|June 16–27
|{{flagicon|NED}} [[Niels Feijen]]
|{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Albin Ouschan]]
|13–10
|-
|[[2015 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2015]]
|September 7–18
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Ko Pin-yi]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Shane Van Boening]]
|13–11
|-
|[[2016 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2016]]
|August 1–4
|{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Albin Ouschan]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Shane Van Boening]]
|13–6
|-
|[[2017 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2017]]
|December 5–14
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Carlo Biado]]
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Roland Garcia]]
|13–5
|-
|[[2018 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2018]]
|December 10–20
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Joshua Filler]]
|{{flagicon|PHI}} [[Carlo Biado]]
|13–10
|-
|[[2019 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2019]]
|December 13–17
|{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Fedor Gorst]]
|{{flagicon|TPE}} [[Chang Jung-lin]]
|13–11
|-
|2020
|colspan="5" align="center" |''Not held due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]''
|-
|[[2021 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2021]]
|June 6–10
|rowspan=2|[[Milton Keynes]], England
|{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Albin Ouschan]] {{small|(2)}}
|{{flagicon|KWT}} [[Omar Al-Shaheen]]
|13–9
|-
|[[2022 WPA World Nine-ball Championship|2022]]
|April 6–10
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Shane Van Boening]]
|{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Albin Ouschan]]
|13–6
|-
|2023
|February 1–5
|rowspan=1|[[Kielce]], Poland
|{{flagicon|ESP}} [[Francisco Sanchez Ruiz]]
|{{flagicon|SYR}} [[Mohammad Soufi]]
|13–10
|-
|2024
|June 3–8
|rowspan=1|[[Jeddah]], Saudi Arabia
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Fedor Gorst]] (2)
|{{flagicon|ALB}} [[Eklent Kaçi]]
|15–14
|}

=== Records ===
* [[Earl Strickland]] holds the record for winning the WPA World Nine-ball Championship the most times with three. (1990, 1991, 2002).
* [[Earl Strickland]] holds the record for the most consecutive wins with two. (1990, 1991).
* [[Albin Ouschan]] holds the record for the most final appearances with four. (2014, 2016, 2021, 2022).
* The oldest pool player to ever win the tournament to date is [[Nick Varner]] of the [[United States]], at 51 years old at the time of his victory, The youngest is [[Wu Jiaqing]] of [[Chinese Taipei]], aged 16 years old at the time of his victory.

==Top performers==
<ref name="azbi_Worl">{{Cite web | title = World 9-Ball Championship | work = azbilliards.com | access-date = August 9, 2018 | url = http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/174-world-9-ball-championship/results/ }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align: center;"
|-
! Name
! Nationality
! Winner
! Runner-up
! Finals
! {{nobreak|Semi-final}}<br />or better
! {{nobreak|Final stage}}<br />appearances
|-
| align="left" | [[Earl Strickland]] ||align="left"| {{USA}} || 3 || 0 || 3 || 5 || 6
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Albin Ouschan]]''' ||align="left"| {{AUT}} ||rowspan=5| 2 || 2 || 4 || 4 || 8
|-
| align="left" | [[Johnny Archer]] ||align="left"| {{USA}} || 1 || 3 || 5 || 10
|-
| align="left" | [[Chao Fong-pang]] ||align="left"| {{TPE}} ||rowspan=3| 0 ||rowspan=3| 2 || 3 || 5
|-
| align="left" | [[Thorsten Hohmann]] ||align="left"| {{GER}} ||rowspan=2| 2 || 6
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Fedor Gorst]]''' ||align="left"| {{USA}} || 2
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Ralf Souquet]]''' ||align="left"| {{GER}} ||rowspan=20| 1 ||rowspan=2| 2 ||rowspan=2| 3 || 6 || 11
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Shane Van Boening]]''' ||align="left"| {{USA}} || 4 || 9
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Alex Pagulayan]]''' ||align="left"| {{CAN}} ||rowspan=5| 1 ||rowspan=5| 2 ||rowspan=4| 3 ||rowspan=2| 7
|-
| align="left" | [[Francisco Bustamante]] ||align="left"| {{PHL}} 
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Carlo Biado]]''' ||align="left"| {{PHL}} ||rowspan=1| 6
|-
| align="left" | [[Nick Varner]] ||align="left"| {{USA}} ||rowspan=2| 3 
|-
| align="left" | [[Ronnie Alcano]] ||align="left"| {{PHL}} ||rowspan=4| 2
|-
| align="left" | [[Efren Reyes]] ||align="left"| {{PHL}} ||rowspan=13| 0 ||rowspan=13| 1 || 7
|-
| align="left" | [[Takeshi Okumura]] ||align="left"| {{JPN}} ||rowspan=2| 5
|-
| align="left" | [[Wu Jiaqing]] ||align="left"| {{CHN}} 
|-
| align="left" | '''[[Ko Pin-yi]]''' ||align="left"| {{TPE}} ||rowspan=10| 1 ||rowspan=2| 9
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Mika Immonen]]''' ||align="left"| {{FIN}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Oliver Ortmann]] ||align="left"| {{GER}} || 6
|-
|align="left" | [[Kunihiko Takahashi]] ||align="left"| {{JPN}} ||rowspan=2| 5
|-
|align="left" | [[Niels Feijen]] ||align="left"| {{NED}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Darren Appleton]] ||align="left"| {{ENG}} ||rowspan=2| 4
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Joshua Filler]]''' ||align="left"| {{GER}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Daryl Peach]] ||align="left"| {{ENG}} ||rowspan=2| 3
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Francisco Sanchez Ruiz]]''' ||align="left"| {{ESP}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Yukio Akakariyama]] ||align="left"| {{JPN}} || 1 
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Kuo Po-cheng]]''' ||align="left"| {{TPE}} ||rowspan=20| 0 || 2 || 2 ||rowspan=1| 3 || 5
|-
|align="left" | [[Lee Kun-fang]] ||align="left"| {{TPE}} ||rowspan=19| 1 ||rowspan=19| 1 ||rowspan=3| 2 || 4
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Eklent Kaci]]''' ||align="left"| {{ALB}} || 2
|-
|align="left" | [[Tom Storm]] ||align="left"| {{SWE}} ||rowspan=4| 4
|-
|align="left" | [[Chang Jung-lin]] ||align="left"| {{TPE}} ||rowspan=16| 1 
|-
|align="left" | [[Dallas West]] ||align="left"| {{USA}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Jeremy Jones (pool player)|Jeremy Jones]] ||align="left"| {{USA}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Antonio Gabica]] ||align="left"| {{PHL}} ||rowspan=2| 3
|-
|align="left" | [[Omar Al-Shaheen]] ||align="left"| {{KWT}}
|-
|align="left" | [[Chang Hao-ping]] ||align="left"| {{TPE}} ||rowspan=4| 2
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Mohammad Soufi]]''' ||align="left"| {{SYR}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Li Hewen]] ||align="left"| {{CHN}}
|-
|align="left" | [[Roberto Gomez (pool player)|Roberto Gomez]] ||align="left"| {{PHL}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Bobby Hunter (pool player)|Bobby Hunter]] ||align="left"| {{USA}} ||rowspan=7| 1
|-
|align="left" | [[Chang Pei-wei]] ||align="left"| {{TPE}}
|-
|align="left" | [[Ismael Paez]] ||align="left"| {{MEX}}
|-
|align="left" | [[Jeff Carter (pool player)|Jeff Carter]] ||align="left"| {{USA}} 
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Roland Garcia]]''' ||align="left"| {{PHL}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Thomas Hasch (pool player)|Thomas Hasch]] ||align="left"| {{GER}} 
|-
|align="left" | [[Yasunari Itsuzaki]] ||align="left"| {{JPN}} 
|}

* Active participants are shown in '''bold'''.
* Only players who reached the final are included.
* Final stage appearances relates to players who reach the last 16 players of the event.
* In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by first name.

==See also==
* {{portal-inline|Cue sports}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.wpa-pool.com/ World Pool-Billiard Association]

{{World 9-ball championship}}
{{World pool champions}}
{{Cue sports nav}}
{{Main world championships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wpa World Nine-Ball Championship}}
[[Category:WPA World Nine-ball Championship| ]]
[[Category:World championships in pool]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1990]]
[[Category:Annual sporting events]]